Lesley Riddoch

St Andrew's Day and St Bride

You know I can't resist a good rant and St Andrew's Day is no exception. In the current issue of No 1 Magazine I am proposing we look at St Bride as a supplement to the winter celebrations. Talking to people, no seems to be pushing back.

The magazine is out now at good newsagents, supermarkets and there is even a St Bride Day Action Group over at Facebook. As ever, it would be great to know what you think.

Riddoch Questions 30 November Murdo Fraser

RIDDOCH QUESTIONS, 30TH NOVEMBER
MURDO FRASER

Scottish MPs should stop voting on English matters. That’s the big idea of Lesley’s guest this week – the Deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives Murdo Fraser MSP. She’ll grill him on his answer to the infamous West Lothian Question and why he thinks MPs should consider radical solutions. Could Westminster function as a de facto English Parliament? Does the Barnett formula need to be re-calculated? And is this constitutional dilemma really stirring up anger south of the border – enough to trigger a break up of the Union?

To have your say on Friday, call 0500 92 95 00 or email Lesley@bbc.co.uk and text 80295.

Fear of change stops digital computer age reaching its potential

The missing CDs joke is doing the rounds already.
Alistair Darling is on Desert Island Discs but only gets to choose six instead of the usual eight. Why? Well he’s got two discs already.
If only that were true.
Despite pictures of men with blue gloves searching every inch of HM Revenue and Customs offices, (strange how men can perform domestic chores when the cameras are running) two CDs containing personal details of half the population still remain unaccounted for.
The scale of the incompetence and penny pinching revealed by the Chancellor’s missing discs announcement is shameful. But the excuses and buck-passing truly beggars belief.

Customer Service...am I alone ?

Please stop and listen to this short audio clip. It is me trying to purchase something. Please tell me if you have a better example or something more frustrating or funnier or  ...whatever. I want to know, there must be a Riddoch Questions in this !

The Fife Diet

Mike Small  and his Fife Diet seems to have hit a nerve...emails and comments seem to be flying in from all over the place and the Riddoch Questions After Words Aftermath podcast  ( click here to listen to it ) seems to have stirred up things once again.

"There is a very wholesome cheap way to remineralize the soil and grow healthy mineral rich food using Rock Dust (volcanic basalt) The Seer Centre in Perthshire is a model pioneer of this stuff." Liz

"We have more people dying of cancer because they aren't dying of the things that used to kill our grandparents.The eco-fascists know this and are lying again."! Neil

These are just some of the comments...however you can comment on any postings by clicking on the wee Comment link under each post on the site or Lesley's blog

We are on Facebook

Ever one to jump in and try out, Riddoch Questions is now available on Facebook.
By all means, drop in, drop by and join in. The Riddoch Questions group is located here.

After Words...the aftermath

It was a great Riddoch Questions, robust opinions and plenty of comment...so here's a wee thing we recorded in the studio about; what didn't make it to the air, what should have been said and a Burns Supper proposal. Click here to enjoy.  You can subscribe for free via iTunes

Comments from the Fiona Hyslop Riddoch Questions

Lesley, 
I attended primary school in 1958 in Maryhill then in Barlornock and for the whole of my time in primary we never had a class below 50 one time we had 56. We were all well Taught nobody left for secondary without the basics of reading writing and arithmetic. From that class were produced doctors,teachers,plumbers,builders,joiners,policemen,labourers etc mothers and the odd crook. I left secondary at 15, as did many of my peer group, but still went on to have a successful career retiring as a Police Inspector.Very few of those who went to school with me have not made a successful fist of life. Perhaps it isn't the class sizes or the leaving age but the teaching that is at fault??

Jimmy W, Ballachulish

Just my two cents...
I presently live in the US and am in teacher training.  The US, like England, requires students to stay in school until the age of 18.  As a result many schools particularly in deprived areas find themselves simply warehousing a disgruntled population of young adults. The behavioural problems are often so severe that teachers have to be offered large bonuses to teach in some of these schools. I believe that early intervention is key and the provision of effective training programs at the other end for the older students who are not destined for colleges.

Linda K

Lesley offers career advice on BBC Radio tonight

Lesley presents the 'Jobseekers' Guide to the Parliaments' on BBC Radio 4 tonight at 20.45 and it is repeated on Sunday 25 November at 5:45 am for the early birds. Set your alarm clock.

Friday 23rd November: Mike Small and the Fife Diet

This week, Lesley’s guest is Mike Small, a man who wants to save the environment by eating only local produce from Fife. He’ll talk about his passion for reducing the carbon footprint of his meals as well as the pros and cons of sourcing all his food within a 20 mile radius. Lesley will be asking him if he thinks we should all be doing it? Can he really survive without coffee? And she challenges him to convert a group of junk-food loving teenagers.

Could you restrict your food shopping to what’s produced in your back yard? Listen on Friday and have your say on 0500 92 95 00 or email Lesley@bbc.co.uk and text 80295.